O2 Gurus at the Belfast marathon

Monday 4 May 2015 saw 17,500 people take part in the annual Belfast marathon. We sent our O2 Gurus along to showcase some wrist worthy gadgets. Here’s how they got on, as written by O2 Guru Kenny Moore-Jones…

This year, O2 Gurus set up camp at Victoria Square in the city centre to show passers-by and running enthusiasts how the latest wearable smart tech can help them achieve their fitness goals.

Smart watches and smartbands help by tracking steps and measuring calories burned through activity. Many of them incorporate heart rate sensors and link in with fitness apps on smartphones to help set goals, measure progress and encourage you to push that little bit further.

There was a fantastic amount of interest in what we were doing and the O2 Gurus spoke to lots of people throughout the day; many were unaware that these devices could help them so much, not just for fitness but for all the little extra things that wearables can do.

Particular favourites at the event included the Sony Smartband Talk which can make and receive phone calls Dick Tracy style, the Microsoft Band which is iPhone, Android and Windows Phone compatible, and the Moto 360 which uses Android Wear and gives you access to the best of Google on your wrist – from search to navigation (you can also load your favourite music onto it and listen with Bluetooth earphones, so you don’t have to carry your bulky phone while you run).

We also took the time to introduce people to the benefits of O2 Priority, our free smartphone app with exclusive deals and rewards for O2 customers. We registered them for the service and they were entered into a prize draw for a Sony Smartband, kindly donated by Sony for the event. The winner, James, has recently started his own bespoke jewellery business and, thanks to a little support from our O2 Gurus, will also be taking advantage of our free Priority Local service, which helps small businesses to get noticed and advertise for free on our O2 Priority app.

It was a fantastic day out in Belfast for everybody and well done to everybody who participated in the marathon itself. The O2 Guru team set out to educate people on wearable tech and how it can be really useful tool to keep on top of personal fitness. I think we achieved that.